


The Dragonriders of GLEE

by hazelandglasz



Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey, Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, F/F, F/M, M/M, Psychic Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-25 00:15:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelandglasz/pseuds/hazelandglasz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Dragonriders of Pern AU<br/>On a planet that is being attacked by an alien substance that destroys everything, the only hope resides on the shoulders of dragons and their riders, bond by a telepathic bond from the moment the dragon hatches<br/>Follow the adventures of the different riders of one Weyr : the Weyr of New Direction</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> ~ indicates a communication between dragon and rider :)

When men first came to McKinley, a G-type star in the Sagitarrian sector, they settled upon its fourth planet and named it Glee.

They had set out to create an utopic, low-tech farmers’ paradise, escaping the ravages of the Fourth World War.

The scientists in the expedition paid little to no attention to the planet’s neighbors and moons.

Less than five years - or Turns, as the Gleeks began calling them - after their arrival, Glee’s erratic sister planet came back in the Eastern skies of Glee. Its greenish appearance, reminding the observers of the sunlight through the leaves in the forest, inspired the name of Green Sylvester for the planetary object.

And then Slushies fell from the sky. The reddish flakes looked like no threat at all - until they touched flesh, or foliage, or anything living. Then the Slush would appear to be eating and destroying anything it could, searing through organisms to leave nothing more than charred remains and lifeless dust.

Only metal, bare rock and water seemed to be a safe environment.

The first Slushiethrow caught the colonists by complete surprise; thousands of them died, herds were decimated and the survivors reorganized.

They abandoned the Southern continent of Ryerson in favor of the more secure North continent of Schuester. There, they built a fort out of an east-facing cliffside, which became New Directions Hold.

But that solution only allowed them to establish a house for the survivors - the Slush were too dangerous, forcing the Gleeks inside their forts, and it was not enough.

A team of biologists turned to the indigenous fire lizards, small flying creatures that looked like dragons, only “pocket-sized”. Those creatures were witnessed singing at the Slush, the music acting like an acid on the flakes and rendering them harmless.

Using genetic engineering, the Gleek team bred the fire lizards into bigger dragons that, by chewing a triangular, yellow-ish stone that the colonists had jokingly called “cheesecake rocks”, could enhance their song and destroy the Slush before it could touch the ground.

Just as the fire lizards linked telepathically with the first humans they met after hatching, the dragons bonded with humans that became their riders. But there lied the difference between the lizards and their gigantic cousins : the dragons, from the moment they escaped their eggshell, seemed to know which human was destined to be their rider.

As the population outgrew the New Directions Hold size, the dragonriders decided to find a new living place, separate from the rest of the population, in an old volcanic basin - there they founded their first Weyr.

The population continued to grow, and the colonists spread out across the Northern continent. The same went for the dragonriders, following the population to protect all the Gleeks, forming new Weyrs in the high mountains.

Weyrleaders were determined by the flight of the golden Queen who laid the eggs : whoever rode the dragon that would mate with the Queen would lead the Weyr by the Queen rider’s side; this firmly established the Weyrs as a matriarchal society within the larger society of Glee.

That being said, the riders quickly found out that cheesecake stones had an influence on the female dragons’ fertility, barring them from the capacity of laying eggs.

The golden dragons were therefore “forbidden” of chewing the stones, participating in the fight with less “fire power” but as a precaution, looking for any escaping Slushie.

As the young men and women were selected to bond with the dragons, to reinforce their new status separate from the rest of the population, it became a rule for the men to shorten their birth names from the moment they bonded with their dragons.

 

Under the leadership of the lord Holders and the Weyrleaders, the new society envisioned by the first colonists started to bloom, essentially based on skills.

Some specialties, particularly those requiring many years in training, became recognized as separate Crafts : Smith, Miner, Farmer, Fisher, Healer and Harper.

Levels of skill in a craft were recognized with the old Earth guilds appellations : Apprentice, Journeyman and Master. Each Craft elected one Headmaster.

After fifty Turns, the Green Sylvester moved too far from Glee for the Slushies to fall and the threat faded away - the Gleeks started living with less fear, the Slushies becoming a legend, until the Green Sylvester repeated its orbit, beginning a second Pass.

Once again, the dragons and their riders rose into the sky to sing against the Slushies.

And fifty Turns later, once again, the Gleeks forgot what they owed to the dragonriders, for another “interval” that lasted two hundreds Turns.

As the Third pass is about to begin, only one Weyr is standing, getting ready to fight the old threat : the Weyr of New Directions, lead by Santana and her Golden Queen dragon, Cheerioth.

Her wingsecond, Coop’er - born Coopomer to the Weyr’s previous leaders - and his bronze dragon, Actorth, were supposed to become the Weyrleaders when another dragon won Cheerioth’s flight : Caffreth, rode by Dani, one the few women riding a bronze dragon.

Now the Weyr is lead by the two women with an iron fist, and only one rider tried to overthrow them. Cheerioth’s roar quickly silenced Seb’an and even his own dragon looked at him with judgement in his luminescent eyes for a couple of weeks after it.

Coop’er’s little brother, Blainevon, a little boy with wide, curly hair and amber eyes that look just like his brother’s dragon’s hide, spends a lot of time with the dragons, and from the moment a new clutch is ready to hatch, every person in the Weyr knows that Blainevon will be one of the squad.

TBC


	2. The Lima Bean

"Blainevon, wait for me !"

As he runs ahead, blainevon can hear kelizurt calling for him and he slows his run to a trot, waving at the older riders sitting in the shades of their dragons' wings.

"Good morning Gur'an, Fl'or" he calls with his boyish smile and the two riders wave back.

"Good morning Weyrbrat" they call back, the affection in their voice softening the nickname. The two dragons overhead sing a welcome and Blainevon looks up while bowing to them. "Gurmanth, Pasteth, good sunrise to you too" he says, joined in his reverence by his friend who finally caught up with him.

The moment Kelizurt is by his side, the two dragons raise their enormous heads to turn their gleaming, multi-faceted eyes to the young apprentice, a low humming noise coming from their throat that Blainevon can only describe as curious. The two older riders laugh at the bewildered look on the boys’ faces, probably sharing a thought with their dragons.

“They seem to have taken quite an interest in you, young blacksmith” Fl’or says with a wink, making Kelizurt blush to the roots of his light hair.

“I’m not an apprentice yet” he mumbles quickly, keeping his eyes to the ground - though Blainevon isn’t sure if it’s to avoid the riders or the dragons’ attentive eyes.

“Yet” he quips, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. He’s so proud of Kelizurt’s abilities and talents : true, he’s not an apprentice in his father’s workshop, but everybody around the New Directions Hold and Weyr knows that he is almost a Journeyman - only the title is missing, he has been around the Headmaster and the different Masters of each Craft all of his life.

“Too bad he won’t be his father’s successor” Gur’an whispers and Blainevon frowns, taking Kelizurt’s hand to drag him away. Before they’re too far away, the young man can hear Fl’or replying with a hushed “His mother _was_ from Sondheim Hold, after all” like this explains the dragons’ erratic behavior. But Kelizurt either didn’t hear them or doesn’t want to say anything, and Blainevon lets it slide.

After all, they have much more important things to do. The Lima Bean - a secluded area in the Weyr that all the Weyrbrats know as a safe playground, named this way after a legend from Old Earth ; some Harpists claim that lima beans actually existed, in the shape of the area - is waiting for them.

\--

As they reach the sandy ground, Kelizurt lets himself plop on one of the comfortable rocks the Bean provides.

“How do you run so fast ?” he pants, glaring at Blainevon as his friend sits in front of him, not even a little bit out of breath.

Blainevon lets out a giggle. “When you keep spying on the Apprentices’ lessons and the Wingleader wants to catch you to teach you once and for all to stay away by taking off the skin of your back, you learn how to run fast -”

“Pretty fast” Kelizurt and him say in unison, their laughter echoing in the cave.

Kelizurt sighs happily as they settle in their routine of exchanging news from the workshop, the Hold and the Weyr when Blainevon pulls some kind of bottle from under his red tunic.

“What is this ?” Kelizurt asks, curiosity turning his eyes a more vibrant shade of blue.

Blainevon holds the bottle to him, expecting his friend to be curious about the content of the bottle, but he shakes his head with a silent laugh when Kelizurt takes the bottle in his hands, running his fingers along the seamless metallic tube.

“Once a blacksmith, always a blacksmith, right ?” he asks and the other boy nods absentmindedly. “Your father gave it to me to test it” Blainevon adds and his friend looks up in surprise.

“My father made this ?” he exclaims, returning his attention to the container, his eyes wide. “He didn’t tell me that he was experimenting” he mumbles and Blainevon recognizes the look in his eyes - ever since Master Burt started seeing the Hold’s Healer and her son Finn has started studying alongside Kelizurt, the later has been feeling like his father is favoring the other boy and pushing himself to the side.

Blainevon’s thoughts jump back to the exchange between the two older dragonriders. Maybe they do know something and maybe the Head Master Blacksmith knows that something as well.

He comes to sit next to his friend and wraps his arm around Kelizurt’s shoulder.

They’ve been friends for the bigger part of their lives, and when Kelizurt’s mom died because of a random Slushiethrow, Blainevon was there, holding Kelizurt’s then smaller frame in his arms to protect him from the rest of the world.

At the time, the young boy repeated to “make them quiet”, and Blainevon has assumed that he meant the lamentation of all the dragons; but when Kelizurt had kept on repeating it in his sleep, while the Weyr was silent, it had shocked him but he had put it away.

Now, it’s all coming back to him, and with the comments made by the riders, Blainevon has an inkling of what his friend can really do, and what that might imply for the next Quest.

“I’m sure you’ll be the next Head Master, Kel’” Blainevon says, calling his friend by his old childhood nickname as he tightens his hold around Kurt’s back, “and when Santana retires and a new Queenrider is the leader of the Weyr, my dragon will cover her and I’ll be the Weyrleader and we’ll both show to all of them that we’re a force to be reckon with” he says passionately and Kelizurt sniffles before looking up at him with a small smile.

“What makes you so sure that you’ll get a bronze or a brown ?” he asks teasingly, “by the Sylvester, what makes you think you’ll ever be selected as Apprentice ?” he adds, all sorrow gone from his voice.

If it takes some light teasing on his ambitions, Blainevon will take the mocking with open arms.

“Please” he says haughtily, “my father was Weyrleader and C’ooper is only Wingleader because Santana is not of that inclination, everyone knows it - it’s in my blood” he adds, trying to quiet the little voice in his head that repeats that he’s not tall enough or strong enough or generally good enough to get the honor of bonding with a dragon.

Kelizurt looks at him and wraps his own arm around Blainevon’s waist. “Sorry” he says softly, “I didn’t mean that you don’t have what it takes to be a proud Dragonrider”.

Blainevon bends his head to rub his head against Kelizurt’s hair, mirroring the affectionate gesture between dragonets. “I know - all we have to do is wait for the next Quest. Since Cheerioth’s flight was a month ago, we’ll know pretty s-” he adds, but a sudden dragon roar cuts him short.

They look at each other before scrambling to run out of the Lima Bean and get back to the Dragon Queen’s nest.

\--

It’s as if Blainevon’s words made the clutch appear out of thin air, and yet, here they are, facing the gigantic golden dragon and her eggs, protected by her massive tail - the growl coming from her mate, perched on the wall nearby helps too.

Caffreth and Cheerioth sing at each other, joined by the other dragons present in the Weyr - more and more come out of the Between, back from whatever mission their riders were on to welcome the next generation of dragons into the world, even if everybody knows that they still have to wait for four more weeks before they hatch.

Just a month to gather enough candidate for the future dragons; Santana, Dani and C’ooper agree on the old saying : “there can’t never be too many Apprentice on the area during the Hatching”.

And by the  golden egg in Cheerioth’s claws, it looks like they’re going to find a queenrider - that won’t take Santana’s status away, but finding a young girl with the strength (physical and mental) it takes to be in this position - they will have to count on the dragons’ ability to find the persons with the proper psychic abilities.

Speaking of which -

The moment Blainevon and Kelizurt join the mass in the Hatching area, all the bronze dragons turn their heads toward them, humming happily in harmony.

C’ooper appears right behind them and claps their shoulders. “Welcome to the family, Apprentices” he says happily. "By Figginth's first egg, I knew you would be picked, Squirt" he adds, blue eyes twinkling with pride as he ruffles Blainevon’s curls.

While Blainevon looks beyond ecstatic, Kelizurt’s face is the epitome of sadness and - is that fear ?

C’ooper leaves them to organize the patrols that are going to gather the apprentices from all over Glee, and the different riders that pass them by congratulate them.

Blainevon thanks them before pulling Kelizurt by the hand to find a refuge in his room, far from the Hatching area.

“Hey, what’s wrong ?” he asks, pouring a cup of hot chocolate from Master Burt’s invention and holding it to his friend. “You should be honored, you do know that right ?”

Kelizurt nods and takes the cup between his hands, biting his lower lip before gulping down the entire cup and wincing at the temperature of the drink.

“I never wanted to be a rider” he says softly and Blainevon gasps.

It’s unheard off - no Gleek would turn the opportunity of being a dragonrider down !

“Are you - are you afraid of the risks of the Slushiethrows ?” he asks again - given the way Kelizurt’s mother passed away, that would be completely understandable but still : his friend is the bravest person Blainevon knows.

Kelizurt shakes his head. “I’m not afraid, it’s just -” he shakes his head, looking for the right words before looking up, his eyes momentarily eerily similar to the green dragons’ hide. “I can hear them” he whispers, looking over his shoulders, and when he looks back at Blainevon, his eyes are back to their usual blue grey.

Blainevon shrugs. “Everybody can hear the dragons” he replies, confused.

“No, you don’t understand !” Kelizurt exclaims, standing up from Blainevon’s bed. “I can hear them thinking, commenting everybody’s attire, talking about how bored they are …” he elaborates, pacing in Blainevon’s small room.

“You - you can hear _all_ the dragons ?” Blainevon stammers, stunned beyond belief.

Kelizurt nods and sighs. “My cousin Rachel too, now that I think of it. She’s still in Sondheim Hold, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be selected for the Golden egg” he adds with a twist of the mouth.

Blainevon jumps at him, taking hold of his hands. “But Kel’, that’s fantastic - imagine if you bond with a bronze too - we’ll be the best Wingleaders !” he babbles and at last, Kelizurt lets himself smiles at the thought.

Being a dragonrider with his own dragon, alongside his best friend - it might not be so bad after all.

_Now if the dragons could shut up about the chemistry between the two of them, that would be even better !_


	3. Chapter 2 - Rachel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight in Rachel's head and more informations about the Quest

Meanwhile, in Sondheim Hold

Shelby is fuming as she stalks the corridors of the godforsaken Hold.  
She knows that as a “fallen”, as the Weyrpeople call unfortunate candidates for a Hatching who don’t get chosen, she should feel proud that she snatched the position of Hold leader by bearing a child to the Hold heir. Hiram has raised Rachel with his companion during the ten years Shelby left to try and become a Master Harpist, but the moment she came back to assume her functions as Hold leader, they left to explore the Southern continent of Ryerson.  
The position is prestigious, particularly for a Hold as old and historical as Sondheim - she knows that.  
But truth be told, the fort is practically in ruin - she has lost count of the number of walls about to crumble, or of the number of tapestries she had to sew back together over the years.  
If only her daughter didn’t have a tendency to listen only to her desires and stayed where she was supposed to be…  
“Rachel !” she calls, her voice ringing against the stones.  
\--  
“That is not proper Hold leader behavior” Rachel thinks, mimicking her mother’s voice and she giggles when her two fire lizards echo the thought, only they are not joking, letting worry and concern color their thoughts.  
“Oh, hush” she mumbles, focusing on her task : she is digging through the Hold’s attic, looking for the medallion that belonged to her aunt, the one piece of the last Dragon singer in the family that Kelizurt gave to her before leaving for New Directions with his father.  
She misses her cousin more than anything, but he sends frequent letters that she keeps in her desk. The last one is her favorite by far, announcing the launch of a Quest for a Queen rider.  
She will be the one getting a Golden dragon, Rachel knows it - it’s in her blood, it’s her Fate.  
Rachel of Sondheim Hold, Queen dragonrider - you have to admit that it has a nice ring to it.  
~ Dragons ? ~ Broadwayth thinks, his claws gripping her shoulder as he leans forward, and his thoughts are colored with a mix of excitement and concern - Rachel would think that it’s bordering on fear if she didn’t know her fire lizards better.  
Images of the giant dragons flying in the sky and Rachel frowns as she reaches to caress the yellow and orange scales in a soothing gesture. Dragons don’t come near Sondheim, not since her birth at least - where did her little pet see the dragons in flight ?  
“Yes, dragons - like you, only bigger” she adds, tickling the base of his left wing. The little lizard lets out a content trill, catching his companion’s attention.  
Westendth comes out of Rachel’s pocket and if they were capable of human expressions, Rachel is pretty sure she would describe her face as indignant - Broadwayth probably woke her from her nap.  
The two lizards launch into a heated debate, and Rachel catches bits of the discussion : they’re discussing the pros and cons of leaving their nest to live with their “cousins”, and Rachel leaves them to it as she resumes her search.  
Where is that damn medallion ?! She can’t not have it when the dragonriders are going to come for her !  
But Shelby busied herself by moving everything in new places, and while it’s less messy, it doesn’t help Rachel finding what she’s looking for.  
“Curse Shelby to the farthest part of the Between” she mutters, pushing a rebellious strand of hair from her face. Out of nowhere, the two lizards freeze on her shoulder and squeak loudly before popping out of existence as they jump in Between when a feminine voice comes from the attic’s door.  
“Is that any way to talk about your Hold leader and mother ?”  
Rachel huffs in annoyance as she opens a trunk, not even bothering to turn and look at Shelby. “Just because you carried me for 9 months, it doesn’t make you my mother” she snaps back, and Shelby chuckles though she feels hurt, coming closer to Rachel and sitting on an upside down crate. It’s not the first time Rachel has reminded Shelby of the fact that she basically abandoned her, and she has tried to mend their relationship ever since she came back in her daughter’s life.  
“Sometimes, sweet daughter” she replies softly, “it’s a wonder I don’t lock you in the tower to teach you some manners. Remember, respect is not owed -”  
“- It’s earned” Rachel finishes her mother’s sentence, a feeling of shame taking over her. “I’m sorry Shelby” she adds, letting her hands drop to her lap.  
Shelby smiles at Rachel’s change in attitude and comes to sit next to her. “I know you’re sorry” she says, wrapping her arm around Rachel’s small frame. “And I know why you feel like this” she continues with a chuckle in her voice. “Remember, I was in your shoes when I was your age”.  
Rachel nods, a small smile on her face and her fire lizards come back, their hides frozen from the Between, to land on her hands. They’re communicating Rachel more images of dragons flying, but this time, riders are on their backs and Rachel looks up with a frown.  
“Did you receive a message from the Weyr ?” she asks and Shelby pulls a rolled sheet from her pocket, her smile growing on her face as Rachel lets her excitement gets the best of her.  
She lets out a squeal that sends the lizards in a flurry above their heads and grabs the roll.  
Rachel wonders if it’s the Weyr leader or her second in command who wrote the message - she dreams about the handsome wingleader taking her for a flight in the clouds - but she quickly focuses on the content of the letter.  
The message informs them that the Quest has begun and that every Hold is supposed to assist the riders in their search for suitable candidates, blah blah blah - and then Rachel frowns.  
“What do they mean, the Sylvester started to rise in the morning ?” she asks out loud, and the fire lizards immediately communicate images of Slushthrows and of the green moon in the sky and Rachel is even more confused. Her lizards are too young to have memories of a Slushthrow, the last Pass is more than seventy years ago - where did those images came from ?  
But before she can ask them what they mean, one of the Watchmen blows in his horn, signaling visitors. Rachel doesn’t need the warning, though : the moment the two brown dragons exit Between, she can hear them thinking - their thoughts are tinted with relief, the Sun over Sondheim apparently being a nice change from the weather over New Directions.  
The young woman lets out a liberating laugh before jumping to her feet and pulling Shelby up. “Come on, let’s go and see the dragons !”  
\--  
Rachel usually feels like she’s small but standing next to the enormous beasts -- she feels microscopic.  
Especially now that the two dragons have crouched so that their heads can be at her level, she can see herself reflected in the hundreds of facets.  
The dragons seem to be so interested in her that they don’t pay attention to the fire lizards climbing on their heads.  
P’uck and Seb’an are talking with Shelby but Rachel can feel the more slender rider’s eyes on her - P’uck is too busy flirting with her mother.  
After iddle chatter about the weather and the last reaping, Seb’an leaves the two of them to come closer to Rachel, patting his dragon’s jaw as he comes to lean against his neck.  
Rachel blushes under his scrutinity and that seems to amuse him. “So you think you have what it takes to ride a Queen ?” he asks, his voice not above a whisper.  
Rachel straightens her shoulders and shakes her long dark hair behind her. “Of course I do” she replies, then lets out a giggle. “And Meerkath seems to think so too !”  
The rider glares at his dragon who lets his tongue poking out out his mouth and Rachel’s giggle intensifies. Seb’an mumbles something that sounds like “traitor” but he smiles at Rachel nevertheless.  
“If you have this idiot’s approval, I guess this counts for something” he says, crossing his arms on his chest and sputters when Meerkath flaps his wing on his face.  
Now, Rachel’s giggles turn into a full laughter and Shelby and P’uck are looking at them, an identical amused look on their faces.  
P’uck then leans toward Shelby. “Yeah, she’ll be at home in the Weyr.”


	4. Chapter 3 - The Hatching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The eggs are finally ready to hatch  
> Will the two boys become dragonriders ?  
> Will Rachel get the newborn Queen dragon ?  
> Let's find out !

“They’re back” Blainevon comments nonchalantly as more dragons pop up in the sky, carrying their riders and two, sometimes three persons on their backs.  
Kelizurt sighs. “I don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer” he says quietly, listening to the dragons’ chorus and specifically, listening to Cheerioth’ train of thoughts.  
The Golden dragon is -- antsy, nervous and it’s unsettling the whole pack. If Kelizurt had Blainevon’s tendencies to make pun, he would say that the biggest dragon of their Weyr is walking on eggs, but that would be just poor taste.  
Kelizurt sniffs in disdain at his own thoughts, but he can’t keep his leg from jumping every now and then, pulling at his white tunic all the Candidates put on at dawn, when the blue dragons started chanting.  
“How is Rachel settling in ?” Blainevon asks, thrying to get Kelizurt’s mind off the impending ceremony.  
That seems to work ad his friend releases the tunic to face him completely. “I didn’t think it would be so much fun to have her here, you know” he says, eyes sparkling, “but she helps me not miss home so much” he adds and Blainevon twists his mouth in sympathy. It’s not like he can completely understand what Kelizurt is going through - his whole world is in the Weyr, his family is never completely away. But for Kelizurt - the dragons’ choice has uprooted his life and turned his whole world upside-down. If the young brunette’s presence helps him feeling at home in the Weyr, Blainevon is definitely not going to complain.  
“Do you know how you’re going to shorten your name ?” Kelizurt asks out of the blue and Blainevon looks away from the stone walls surrounding the eggs to face his friend.  
“Not really - I always thought I would let my dragon decide for me” he says pensively and Kelizurt giggles. “That does sound like you” he says fondly, bringing a blush to Blainevon’s face.  
“What about you ?” he says, trying to calm the beating of his heart.

Lately, he has noticed that he gets more and more flustered around his friend - particularly since Kelizurt has moved in the Weyr - and he doesn’t understand. He knows that some riders are attracted to persons of the same gender - their Weyrleaders are a prime example of it - but he doesn’t know for sure where his preferences will take him. Truth be told, when he pictures himself with a mature dragon going for its first flight, he doesn’t imagine himself making love to a female rider, but that doesn’t mean anything; and in any case, Weyrmate and actual lover are two distinct entities.  
He knows that.  
And if he allows the little voice in his head that lists all of his best friend’s attributes, he knows the answer to his wondering.  
But they have time before needing to look into it any further.

“I don’t really know” Kelizurt says, scruffing his toe to the ground and Blainevon knows that tone.   
“You do know, Kel’” he says with a teasing tone and the proud smile that blossoms on the other boy’s face is telling that he’s right.   
“I want to keep my father with me in my new name” he replies and Blainevon nods.  
“So, what, you’ll contract your name to K’urt ?” he suggests and his friend’s eyes widen.  
“That’ perfect !” he exclaims, clapping his hands.  
Rachel’s little fire lizard - the greenish one - pops out above their heads with a happy trill. “Hey, Westendth” Kelizurt welcomes it, holding his hand up for the miniature dragon to land, but as usual, it chooses to land on Blainevon’s shoulder.  
“Hey little one” he coos, reaching to tickle it’s jaw, earning a loud purring sound. Kelizurt pouts - as he always does, the fire lizard showed its preference for the curly haired boy from the beginning, enjoying the way its claws get tangled in said curls like it’s its own nest from day 1.  
The fire lizard’s thoughts are colorful and happy, with an undercurrent of urgency that Blainevons picks up pretty quickly. “We better get back inside the Hatching arena” he says, pushing himself up and brushing the back of his tunic to make sure that it is pristine white.  
Kelizurt stands up from his seat and brushes one hand on his back, the touch bringing the blush back on his face.  
It’s a slim consolation to see that his friend is blushing too as they quickly walk to join the other Candidates inside.  
\--  
The humming - both real and telepathic - of all the dragons is deafening, but Rachel is focused on not making a fool of herself as she enters the arena. All the riders and all the Hold Leaders and all the Head Masters are sitting on the stone steps that surround the Hatching arena - now is not the moment to ridicule herself.   
She can’t even count on Broadwayth and Westendth for support - the two lizards flew to be with their brethrens and much bigger cousins - and she has a fleeting moment of shyness.  
One of the other candidates for the Golden egg, a beautiful blonde girl named Lucyquinn who came from the Northern Hold of Fabray, takes her hand and squeezes it in support as they walk on the warm sands. She gives her a smile and they both enter the arne with their heads held high.  
She waves quickly at her cousin as Kelizurt enters the arena from the other entrance, joining the circle of young men and women around the regular eggs while Quinn, Rachel and five other young women surround the Golden one.  
Kelizurt stays close to his friend, the one Westendth seems to be obsessed with and Rachel can see it - both with her own eyes and with the lizard’s eyes : Blainevon is a young man who needs to grow out of his family’s shadow, but intrinsically a pure heart and a good friend.  
She can’t wait to see what kind of dragon he’s going to get.  
But for now, she needs to focus on the egg in front of her, the shiny one that starts rocking back and forth as the little dragonet tries to break free.  
~ Courage little one, you can do it, we’re all waiting for you~ Rachel can hear Caffreth thinking from his spot right above Cheerioth and she tries to communicate the same emotion to the dragon trapped inside the hard, golden shell.  
\--  
Blainevon is the first one to notice that the larger group of eggs is starting to shake and tumble on the sand and he immediately nudges Kelizurt’s side to drag his attention back to “their” eggs. He straightens his shoulders and tries to be relaxed and calm, like the Apprentice Master instructed them to, so that the dragonets can come out of their shells with waves of peace and love welcoming them; but he can’t help the surge of nervosity he experiences when the first shell breaks cleanly in two.  
From his position, he can hear the adults all murmuring about the good omen that this announces but all of his attention is focused on the little bronze dragon - another good omen - that emerged from the shell.  
The dragonet is shaking its slightly disproportionate head and flaps his wings to get rid of the mucus from the shell before turning his attention to the teenagers assembled in a semi-circle in front of him.  
Blainevon smiles when he sees that he seems to focus on one boy with dark short hair, who looks like they’re celebrating all of his birthdays at once. The boy - Deremek ? Wolabek ? Something ending in “ek” anyway - kneels down and opens his arms for the dragonet.  
The little one waddles toward him and cuddles against the boy’s chest.  
All the adult riders look with tears in their eyes as the Bonding takes place, the boy looks up, his blue eyes filled with happy tears. “He says his name is Stileth” he tells to anybody who listens and the dragons all roar a welcome to the young bronze. “He also says that I should shorten my name to Der’ek” he adds with a laughing hiccup and the adults catcall their own cheer.  
The best he can, Der’ek helps Stileth out of the sandy arena to feed him the meat they prepared earlier and Blainevon shares a look with Kelizurt. With any luck, this could be them very soon.  
Many dragonets break their shells and pairings are made until a little brown stumbles out of his shell and starts crying because he fells on his back. Blainevon and Kelizurt run to help him back on his feet before returning to their positions in the circle, Blainevon’s heart beating faster all of a sudden.  
The dragonet shakes his head, reminding him of a puppy getting out of waters, before looking up - straight at Blainevon.  
~ I like your mind ~ he suddenly hears in his head and he almost falls to his knees.  
~ Welcome to Glee, little one ~ he thinks, coloring his thoughts with love and tenderness as he gets on one knee to greet the dragon in his arms.  
As the young dragon rushes in his embrace, Blainevon can’t help the surge of pride he feels when he sees that his dragon doesn’t waddle, but walks with dignity - well as much dignity as he can muster. The moment his arms close around the brown wings, he starts crying and laughing at the same time, oblivious to Coop’er’s shouts and applause and to the rest of the Weyr’s cheers.  
When he looks up, he looks at Kelizurt who is beaming at him. “His name is Warblementh” he says breathlessly and as the dragon nudges him in the chest, he giggles. “And I’m B’laine”.  
\--  
As B’laine exits the arena with one hand on top of Warblementh’s head, Rachel can tell that her cousin is getting worried : there are only three eggs left and there are ten teenagers still waiting.  
The three eggs keep rocking back and forth - it’s hypnotizing - when a murmur travels through the crowd as a distinct crack comes from the Golden egg.  
She returns her attention to the egg, just like the ten other girls standing around her - she gives a supporting smile to Quinn though before looking as a golden wing emerges from the broken egg.  
It’s like the little one is enjoying the attention, like a mistress Harpist waiting to have everyone’s eyes on her as she enters the stage before a recital, what with the way she delicately breaks the shell around her, keeping one wing coyly over her head.  
Using her feet to kick the base of the egg, the dragonet finally unfolds her wings and the only word Rachel can think of is “beautiful”.  
The multifaceted eyes are glowing like the mother of pearl Rachel used to collect by the sea near the Hold and they browse the assembled teenage girls, the dragon keeping her nose up in the air.  
When she zeroes on Rachel.  
~ You deserve me ~  
Rachel gasps as the golden dragon, easily twice the size of the dragons that already hatched, looks at her and flicks her tongue out of her mouth.  
~ I will not disappoint you, my precious one ~ she replies as she walks toward the dragon that opens her wings and lets out a happy trill.  
~ I’m Barbrath ~ she says to Rachel and the young girl turns to the assembly, keeping her voice steady, to proclaim the name of the newborn Queen dragon.  
~ I’m hungry though ~ Barbrath adds, and Rachel can feel the pout in her mental tone. ~ Will you feed me ? ~   
Rachel kneels down to rub the smooth scales that glitters in the sunlight. ~ I will always take care of you, I promise ~  
\--  
As Rachel comes out of the arena with her little golden dragon, Kelizurt’s eyes remain on the Fallen still standing around the empty circle on the side. Most of the girls are crying in each other’s arms, except for one - the blonde girl that was holding Rachel’s hand when they came in earlier.  
She is standing on her spot, her back to the crowd but it doesn’t look like she’s crying. If anything, there is a relaxation to her posture that screams relief to him.  
But he needs to focus - one more egg opened, revealing a little green dragon that keeps on looking at them and shakes his head. After a while, he lets a pitiful cry and all the dragons turn to him, humming comfortingly at him and he cries back at them. Kelizurt can tell that he can’t find the mind that would match his among them and he turns to the blonde girl.  
“Hey” he calls, gaining her attention. She looks at him with one eyebrow raised, as if she cannot fathom why he disturbed her when Kelizurt moves to the side, opening a line of sight between her and the dragon and he lets a cry of happiness.  
She almost falls flat on her face in her haste to join them on their side of the arena, on her haste to get to the little green dragon that is currently trying to walk toward her too.  
Santana and Dani - and Coop’er and P’uck too, though they would never admit it - are openly crying at the scene : a dragon always finds its match when it hatches.  
Quinn lets herself flop on the sand to sit there and the green dragonet rushes to get in her arms, climbing on her lap as she cries.  
“His name is Beth” she says with a sob and she rocks the dragonet against her small frame, with it purring loudly enough to be heard in the whole arena.  
Only two eggs left then.  
One of the eggs is smaller than the other but it rocks the hardest, as if the dragon can’t wait to be out of here.  
A murmur runs through the crowd as Cheerioth stands to her whole height, leaving her nest to come closer to the two latecomers.  
Caffreth lands next to her and the last Candidates take a step back to avoid the gush of dust that follows the arrival of the two biggest dragons of the Weyr.  
They bend their heads closer to their last “children” and Kelizurt can hear their concern - a quick look at the Weyrleaders tells him that they share their dragons’ worries.  
The smaller egg keeps on rocking and Cheerioth nudges it with her mouth, pushing it to the ground where it finally cracks.  
The dragon inside lets out a cry that Kelizurt can only described as indignant, as if he (or she, the mental voice is gender neutral most of the time) can’t believe that he or she has to go through that sort of indignity.  
One clawed foot finally pierces the egg and the green scales appear in the light - though Kelizurt has never seen green dragon with such blue-ish highlights.  
A wing follows the foot before the dragon throws her head against the shell, breaking it in a thousand pieces and she stands there, shaking her head to get rid of the last pieces of shell, her tail flicking on the ground. Cheerioth purrs at her and the dragonet raises her head to look at her mother with an answering growl.  
Meanwhile, Caffreth knocks at the remaining egg, a sad trill coming from his throat and Cheerioth looks away from the green dragon to rub her golden head against her mate’s neck. All the dragons in the Weyr sing their welcome to the little green dragon, but the fire lizards assembled on the pillars start singing a mournful tune for the remaining egg.  
It happens, they all know it : sometimes, an egg doesn’t hatch, the dragonet not strong enough to come out or not fully developed or sick.  
It doesn’t make it any less sad to know that it’s part of Nature.  
Kelizurt wipes the tears from his eyes and focuses on the last dragon of the clutch.  
~ Welcome little one ~ he thinks, using his special ability to calm the little green dragon.  
She turns her head toward him, and the green scales take a blue hue for a moment.  
~ Why is everybody sad ? ~ she asks him, letting her wings drop around her hind legs and Kelizurt wants to rush to comfort her.  
~ One of your brothers didn’t hatch, little one, but everyone is happy to see you ~ he replies.  
Her tail flicks one more time before she takes a determined step toward him.  
~ Are you happy to see me ? ~ she asks, and if Kelizurt was prone to making human comparisons, he would say that the way she opens and closes her eyelids is the equivalent of a girl batting her eyelashes at a boy.  
~ You have no idea, my wicked emerald ~ he replies teasingly and the dragonet lets out a happy trill.  
~ You’re mine ? ~ she asks, flapping her wings and Kelizurt doesn’t hesitate any more, running toward her to hug her little body against him.  
“I’m yours” he says outloud and she rubs her head against his shoulder.  
“Her name is Pavaroth” he announces to the assembly, pushing his voice to make sure that everyone hears him.  
Everybody cheers and Santana jumps in the arena to clap his shoulder. “And what’s your new name, brother ?” she asks with a glint in her dark eyes.  
Kelizurt stands up, keeping one hand on top of Pavaroth’s head.  
“K’urt” he says, looking at his father on the steps, who is busy cheering him and pointing at him, telling everybody who’d listen “That’s my boy, that’s my boy !”  
“I’m K’urt” he repeats, turning his gaze to his Weyrleader. Santana nods before leaning forward to whisper in his ear.  
“You’re the boy who can hear them all, aren’t you ?”  
K’urt gulps and nods. “Then I’ll be looking your training closely” she says, the wink she gives him softening the warning.

Well then - at least he won’t be alone in this, he thinks as B’laine welcomes him with a bucket of red meat for his dragon, a beaming smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 4 : Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First flight

Three Revolutions later

 

The Weyrleaders are meeting with the different Masters of Pern more often than in the past Revolutions. Particularly with the Head Master Blacksmith.

That has nothing to do with his son being an Apprentice in the Weyr, but it does act as an incentive for him to abandon his workshop and have the meetings in the rocky formations that home the dragons and their riders.

The visions of Slushthrows transmitted by the fire lizards to their owners are alarming, just as alarming in fact as the messages coming from the expedition lead by the Lords Hiram and Leroy in the South continent about tsunamis and volcanic explosions.

Just as alarming as the messages sent by the previous Weyrleaders, retired in the ruins of the first Weyr on Ryerson, about how all of those catastrophes usually precede the return of the Green Sylvester star.

But for now, the thirteen apprentices are learning what it really means to live with a dragon.

\--

~ Good morning K’urt !! ~ 

K'urt opens one eye, trying to see if he’s already late but something is obscuring his vision.

“Pav’, please” he moans in his pillow but his dragon is insistent - Pavaroth is already big, big as a medium horse, as most female dragons usually are, and she’s as affectionate as a puppy.

She even wags her long tail when K’urt finally abandons his warm bed to look at her, nudging his shoulder with her nose to greet him back to the living.

~Why are you excited this morning ? ~ K’urt asks affectionately as he scratches her back - there is a sore sport right behind her right wing that no amount of cream and treatment can soothe.

~ Flight training !~ Pavaroth replies, barely standing in place as she waits for K’urt to get ready. Standing up is more difficult than yesterday - he must have gained a couple more inches in the night, though he wonders when his growth spurt will end.

K’urt is even more thorough with his skincare routine than usual - if they’re going to try and fly, he better prepare his skin for the colder air up there.

Oh gods he’s going to be up there.

What if he falls and makes a fool of himself ?

~ I will not let you fall ~ Pavaroth says softly, nudging his hand that has gone limp with her head.

K’urt realizes that to do so, she had to crouch and he looks at her like he hasn’t seen her in a long time.

~ I know that ~ he replies, taking the time to admire her.

Preening under her rider’s proud look, Pavaroth stretches her neck and her wings, her green scales turning blue in the rising Sun, just for a moment - until something bigger comes between her and the Sun.

~ Good morning K’urt ! ~ Warblementh says excitedly as he enters K’urt and Pavaroth’s room.

The brown dragon is as excited as the first day to be able to talk to his rider’s best friend, and it colors all of his thoughts when he turns his attention to K’urt; it’s an endless source of amusement for the young man, to hear the changes in his tone when he’s talking to B’laine - soft, friendly, brotherly even -, when he’s talking to other dragons - that depends on the dragon : he’s affectionate and protective when he talks to Pavaroth, playful but snarky when he talks to Actorth, playful and at ease with both Titanth and Stileth -, and when he talks to him - soft and affectionate, with an undercurrent of undying surprise.

K’urt is half convinced that Warblementh’s mental patterns reflect those of --

 

“Good morning !” B’laine says happily in his ear as he hugs him from behind and K’urt can feel himself blushing at the gesture.

 

The two of them have always hugged each other, but there is something different in the way they behave now, something unsettling and fantastic at the same time.

K’urt knows that he is not attracted to other girls - when he has the time, or when he lets his mind wander like when he is washing Pavaroth’s hide, he wonders if the gender of his dragon changed something in his own sexual orientation, but that doesn’t make much sense - and looking back on their childhood, he knows that there has always been something special between B’laine and him.

Watching the two dragons welcoming each other with a rub of their heads against the other’s neck, and listening to their conversation (particularly to the emotions coloring it), K’urt can already predict what would be the outcome of Pavaroth’s first flight -- though he doesn’t really want to talk or hear about it.

 

“Good morning B’laine” he replies, patting B’laine’s hands around his waist to make him let go and they watch their dragons greeting each other.

“Flight lesson today huh ?” B’laine says with a tremor in his voice as he pulls away and K’urt turns to looks at him.

There is something behind his eyes that look so much like Actorth’s hide, something that looks like fear - but a different kind of fear than the one K’urt experienced just a moment ago.

K’urt knows B’laine - must be the fear of disappointing the Apprentice Master, the Weyr, his brother, his parents, his heritage …

“You’re going to be great” K’urt says with a smile. “Look at Warblementh” he says, forcibly turning B’laine to look at his dragon. The brown is extending his wings in the sun, eyelids covering his eyes as he enjoys the warmth and Pavaroth is affectionately licking at the scales of his neck. “He’s already one of the biggest dragon of our Crutch and we worked together - he’s strong enough”.

~ I knew it was a good idea to come and see you before the class ~ Warblementh says, his mental voice lazy as he purrs his approval at the praise.

~ Don’t get too cocky~ K’urt replies, and from the frowny smile on B’laine’s face, he’s pretty sure that his friend told his dragon the same thing.

“Now let’s go - I need my hot chocolate before I even consider going on her back and in the air” he says out loud to B’laine, blushing once again when his friend holds his fur-trimmed flight jacket for him.

 

Puberty is going to be as pleasant as a Slushie, isn’t it ?

 

\--

 

For most of them, the young dragons already tried flying, or, more accurately, hovered over the ground by flapping their wings.

The Apprentice Master, Shannon, and her green dragon Beisteth, have been very careful to stop them before they got caught in the winds current and hurt themselves.

Today, all the dragons are in the Weyr, looking over the young ones and demonstrating flying techniques for their younger brothers and sisters.

“Your brother is back” K’urt says with a snicker as Coop’er dismounts Actorth and shakes his tousled hair to impress some of their comrades - boys and girls alike, Coop’er is not very discrete about his willingness to sexually satisfy anyone who would be willing.

B’laine huffs, a couple of curls rising in the air with the puff of air he releases. “Does he need to make such a big show of himself ?” he whines, and Warblementh is looking at the bronze dragon, currently preening under the attention, with the same disdain.

K’urt lets out a giggle at the similar attitude the pair has in regard of the older dragon and his rider and his laughter only intensifies when B’laine looks at him with a frown, not understanding what K’urt finds so funny.

“Quiet” Mistress Shannon calls, Beisteth echoing her rider’s order with a roar of her own. Her green hide is worn, shining like copper in the Sun, and K’urt looks at the other green dragons in attendance : Beth and Pavaroth are looking at her, their eyes following her as she circles over their heads.

K’urt looks at Quinn who looks even more determined than usual, her blonde hair shorter now than at the Hatching - it suits her - and K’urt exchanges a smile with her.

They got closer, since they all train according to their dragons’ colors, and the other green riders in their Clutch are -- well, let’s just say that K’urt prefers to hang with Quinn.

Since she’s the only one riding a Queen, Rachel trains with them - if anything, to make sure that the male dragons don’t harass the Golden dragon - and the three of them are pretty much inseparable.

That is, when K’urt isn’t with B’laine.

 

B’laine let’s out a huff of annoyance when Seb’an plops out of Between on Meerkath’s back.

Of course the brown rider made sure that he would see B’laine’s first flight.

Ever since B’laine joined the Weyr as an “official” rider, the slightly older boy keeps pestering him - B’laine is pretty sure that Seb’an calls it “seducing” but he begs to differ - and he’s out of options to keep the other boy away from him.

Once again, Meerkath tries to show to his rider that he doesn’t agree with his behavior, and for the past week, Seb’an has been repentant and apologized to him, but B’laine is still weary of him - K’urt tells him that Meerkath said that it’s merely a game for the taller rider, that he doesn’t mean anything by it and that he truly, in his heart, wants to befriend him and he wants to believe them.

 

Even if he was considering getting a lover - and he’s not, he’s far too young for that, and when you take Warblementh’s development, it adds another couple of years for him to even consider it - B’laine knows that he would not be able to have both a lover and a Weyrmate.

He trusts Warblementh with everything, including the dragon knowing his heart well enough to fly after a dragon whose rider will be B’laine’s match.

B’laine lets his eyes drift from the dragons in the air to K’urt who is standing a couple of feet away; Warblementh takes his eyes away from the sky and follows his eyes, to K’urt and Pavaroth.

~ Soon ~ he tells B’laine and he returns his attention to his dragon.

~ What do you mean ? ~ he asks, feeling a blush creeping up his face.

Warblementh flicks his tongue out, in a gesture that B’laine associates with him being teasing. ~ Pav’ is going to be ready soon ~ he says, his thoughts colored with affection and foreboding.

K’urt looks in their direction, and B’laine wonders if he listened to their conversation.

 

“Alright baby dragons,” Shannon calls and they all return their attention to her, “let’s get this party in the air - get on your dragons and find your balance.”

Even though the green and gold dragons are bigger than the male ones, the bronze, brown and blue dragons are still a reasonable size, like small horses or big poneys.

All the Apprentices ask their dragons to crouch and some of the dragons offer a leg to stand on and climb on them. Finding a balance between two ridges on the dragon’s back is not too complicated - it really looks like it was made for them to be here.

Warblementh rolls his shoulders and his back under B´laine and he follows the movement naturally, his hands lightly gripping the sturdy ridge in front of him.

P'uck is assisting the Apprentice Mistress and walks between the ranks they naturally formed, handing belts to those who are too small for the space between the ridges. He smiles at B’laine as he walks by, patting the bronze dragon on the flank.

A couple of feet away, K’urt is comfortably seating on Pavaroth’s back while the dragon tries to dislodge him by undulating her back - it looks like fun, if K’urt’s giggles are any indication, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to fall from her back.

Rachel and Quinn are petite enough that they do need the belts and P’uck is more than happy to help them in the process - his relationship with the Mistress Harpist of Glee is no secret, but he just loves the flirting game.

 

Once they’re all secure on their dragons’ back, Beisteth lands in front of them, helping her rider to climb on her back in a couple of jumps. “Let’s go for a flight !” she calls, and all of the dragons start flapping their wings.

K’urt didn’t expect any of it : the wings are placed right in front of him, and he can see every little muscle coming into action to make them move up and down, back and forth, and all of it simultaneously. He can also feel all the back muscles tensing under his legs and he tightens his hold, more as a reflex than out of necessity.

~ I can’t believe it’s finally happening ~ Pavaroth tells him, her voice colored with excitement as she slowly but surely gets off the ground. ~ We’re flying !~ she adds, hovering at 5 feet over the ground and K’urt looks around them, at the whole Clutch in flight, exchanging an unbelieving smile with B’laine.

They’re doing it, they’re actually flying like “real” dragonriders - the dream is becoming true, and it’s unbelievable.

“Alright, Apprentices !” Shannon calls, “place yourself in formation, like we learned on the ground !”

Dragons fly from right to left and left to right, until they’re all forming a V with the bronze dragons at the point, browns, greens and blues alternated and the golden queen standing between the two tips of the V.

“Perfect” Shannon calls, a proud smile on her face and her appreciation echoed in the roar of all the other dragons.

“We’re going to try loops and curves - slowly, follow our example,” she instructs, and just as she said, Beisteth flies away before curving her wings to allow the winds to carry her as she makes a smooth semi-circle before facing the Apprentices once more.

 

Out of Between pop more trained dragons, locating themselves next to a younger dragon of the same hide to guide them in the maneuver.

Seb’an is by B’laine’s side and he leans forward. “Just do not lean when he’s going to turn” he says patiently, showing what he means as Meerkath angles his bigger body as if he was turning; B’lain has to admit that he would have followed the movement with his body and he smiles at the older rider. The small smile he gets from Seb’an is enough to tell him that the other Brown is done with his teasing and maybe, just maybe, they could be friends.

He tells Warblementh to give it a try and tightens his thighs on both sides of the dragon’s spikes.

The brown dragon starts slowly, flying away from his brethren to get enough room, and B’laine can feel Seb’an flying a couple of feet under them - the fact that he’s doing so to catch them if they do a mistake sends a sharp bolt of fear through him but Warblementh sends him a wave of reassurance and trust before curving his own wings. B’laine takes a deep breath and stays as straight as he can, allowing his body to just follow the movement his dragon is using and here they are, facing the other Apprentices.

They did it - the two of them just flew, really flew above the courtyard and neither of them got hurt. Warblementh lets out a joyous trill just as B’laine lets out a victory battlecry.

 

Facing him, K’urt squares his shoulders on Pavaroth’s back, listening to Warblementh’s soft encouragements - for her or for him, he’s not quite sure - before patting his dragon’s neck.

~ Let’s do this ~ he tells her, more to strengthen himself than her, since she doesn’t need any encouragement - from the way she has been purring since they got in the air, K’urt can tell that Pavaroth was only waiting for this moment to arrive.

She starts flapping her wings when a bigger green dragon pops out of Between by her sides. K’urt turns his head to look at the newcomer, and lets out a sigh of relief when he sees the blonde hair of the rider : S’am has been a supportive presence in his training so far, taking his bullies on the sides to have a talk with them whenever their behavior seemed detrimental to the dragons’ well being. 

“Looking good, K’urt !” he calls, hands on Impreth’s neck as the bigger green dragon flies close enough to lightly brush the tip of her wing to Pavaroth in an affectionate gesture.

Once the older dragon is satisfied, she lets herself drop a couple of feet underneath in the same fashion than Meerkath did for Warblementh.

K’urt can feel a tremor going through Pavaroth as she flies forward, toward Warblementh who is flapping his wings to hover in the same spot, and then she bends her wing to take a curve.

K’urt is so exhilarated that he feels likes his breath is punched out of his chest and he can’t help but let a giggle of happiness - Pavaroth may have been less elegant in her flight than Warblementh, needing to balance her push with her other wing, but to her defense, she is bigger than the Brown and from the moment he came out of his shell, B’laine’s dragon has always been the more graceful dragon of the Clutch.

Pavaroth comes to a stop as she reaches Warblementh, close enough that their wings are almost overlapping and K’urt laughs again as he listens to them exchanging bolts of admiration and excitement over their first flight.

Warblementh makes a nonchalant comment about another kind of first flight and both the teenagers blush, exchanging a look that only increases the blush on their face.

 

The exchange is not lost on several experienced riders looking over the training - the dragons and their humans usually get emotional when they watch the milestones their little brothers and sisters achieve, but this emotional connection between two dragons and their riders, at least a couple of years before the dragons reach their sexual maturity ?  
That’s almost unheard of but as Santana whispers in Dani’s ear later that night, so are Dragon singers and yet, they have two in their Weyr, don’t they ?


	6. chapter 5 : First mating flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pavaroth has reached her maturity, but is K'urt ready ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the poooooorn !!

Two revolutions later

The Green orb of the Sylvester is obvious in the dawn skies of Glee by now, and the Weyr - the only Weyr standing - is getting ready for the upcoming Sluththrow era that is upon them.

But for now, the dragons are reaching their teenage years and it’s not so easy to deal with your dragon’s hormones on top of yours.

\--

K’urt feels like he’s going to die.

For days now, Pav has been nervous and irrational and going Sondheim knows where through Between, coming back slightly calmer but barely and he doesn’t know what to do.

He himself feels like he’s walking on eggs, like he can’t do anything about his body temperature, but particularly like there is nothing he can do about the erection that won’t go away.

He tried everything to calm himself down : he took an ice cold bath, and tried to drag Pavaroth in to cool her down too, but only managed to get in the water faster when she shoulder-pushed him in ; he tried to think unsexy thoughts but she ruined it by thinking about B’laine ; he even tried to masturbate to get rid of it once and for all but even though he came twice, his cock is still as hard as it can be and he doesn’t know what to do.

He knows that at some point he’s going to have to get out of his room, but even the longest of his tunics would let everybody see his “situation”.

Pavaroth starts singing, perched on the cobblestone that is their balcony and K’urt looks at her with wide eyes when other male dragons start singing along.

~What are you doing ? ~ he asks trying to pull her back inside, but she shakes her head and looks at him. Now he can see that her eyes are glowing like ambers, which never happened.

Behind him, Shannon suddenly opens the door and K’urt turns his head to look at her.

“Restrain her,” she instructs and K’urt frowns, only to see that Pavaroth flew away - a look through the massive window lets him see that his dragon is flying over the sheep paddock.

~ Pav ! ~ K’urt calls and the green dragon turns to look at him mid-flight. In the sunlight, her scales have never looked so green.

K’urt rushes to go to her, jumping over the stones, all of his attention on her.

In his rush, he misses the way several riders turn to look at him with hungry eyes, the same hunger in their eyes than in their dragons’ as they look at Pavaroth.

~ I’m hungry~ Pavaroth growls as he tries to hold her up through their bond.

“Keep her from eating too much,” S’am tells him softly, “she needs to be as light as possible to get the time to make her choice.”

“Her choice ?” K’urt asks, completely bewildered by what is going on but keeping Pavaroth from decimating the flock of sheeps kept in the Weyr.

“It’s her mating flight,” S’am says with a frown on his face as he looks around them, “you didn’t notice that she was going into heat ?”

K’urt’s eyes widen with panic. “Mating ? Heat ?” he cries out and Pavaroth answers his panic with a roar of her own. “We never talked about it in the Green class !”

Shannon is joining them, and the Apprentice mistress is twisting her mouth - she is undoubtedly blaming herself for not warning the riders in her charge about that particular aspect of the green dragons life.

“No doubt about the fact that she is going into heat,” S’am says, his eyes following Pavaroth as she flies up to snatch another sheep to drain its blood. “Look at her scales, they’re usually bluish green and now …”

And now the entire dragon seems to be glowing green like that leaf he had found with B’laine when they were kids and -

B’laine.

“Where is B’laine ?” he asks, mind dizzy with the thirst for blood Pavaroth is generously sharing with him and the myriad of thoughts coming from the whole Weyr.

 

He knows that he’s feeling more than friendship for B’laine, he suspects that those feelings are reciprocated, but there is not a single doubt in his mind that Pavaroth wants, needs Warblementh to be her mate.

 

“He’s practicing nearby, I’ll go tell him to come back on my way out,” S’am offers generously before running to jump on Impreth’s back.

K’urt has half a mind to ask him to stay, to not leave him alone, but he knows better ; even if they didn’t cover the technical aspects of a Green dragon’s mating flight, he knows that the other green dragons in the Weyr have to leave to let the mating dragon alone with her hormones.

In the distance, K’urt can hear Impreth flying away with Beth in tow, the younger dragon wondering why she can’t stay to watch her friend being courted by the other dragons, and the older dragon replying that it’s for her own good - Impreth adds images of her own first mating flight that sends a blush on K’urt’s faces and he hurries to block her voice from his mind.

It all made sense : of course he couldn’t stop the arousal running through his body - dragon lust is not that easy taken care off, only mating would quench it.

 

Pavaroth drains a third sheep, her scales shining, almost pulsing in the sunlight and out of nowhere, Dani is by his side.

“Let her drink one more sheep,” she says quietly in his ear, “and then let her fly in circles above the Weyr - she needs to flaunt it a little,” she adds with a giggle. The young, childish sound is so unusual for the usual serious, restrained Weyrleader that it pulls K’urt from his lust-enduced dizziness.

He’s suddenly assaulted by the thoughts of the blue and brown dragons figuratively drooling over Pavaraoth as she spreads her wings, the carcass of the fourth sheep in her claws. She roars defiantly toward the males assembled like vultures on the buildings’ roof.

They roar back, some louder than the others - some bronze dragons are here, looking at the scene with glowing red eyes that surprise K’urt. Bronze dragons usually don’t participate in a Green flight, what is going on ?

“It’s not the dragons, it’s the riders,” Dani says when she catches him looking at the bigger bronze dragons, “some of them have had less than pure thoughts about you, Dragonsinger.”

 

K’urt feels like he’s going to be sick - he doesn’t want anyone’s attention, he doesn’t want to be an object of lust for any of them - he only wants Warblementh.

Wait a moment.

He turns to look at Pavaroth who is getting ready to take off and he feels like he’s both in his body and in her mind.

~ Only Warblementh will catch me ~ she tells him and he can feel her determination to mate only with the dragon she has felt a connection ever since they hatched.

 

The moment she takes the air, K’urt feels like he’s overcrowded here in the open, and he rushes to get back to his chambers like he has a Slushie on his heels.

He quickly finds a dozen or so riders already waiting for him or marching on him, their hunger and their lust obvious on their faces. Somewhere, not too far from his rooms, he can see Seb’an with wide, dark eyes trying to pull another brown rider away and he’s so focused on avoiding the tall rider that he misses the blue dragonrider that was coming onto him from the shadows.

“Hello there, little green.”

The voice sends shivers down his spine, and in his bond with Pavaroth, he can feel the blue dragon creeping up on her in midair and as he raises one arm to push him away, she flies up, escaping his grip.

“Dav’id,” he whispers unbelievingly.

The blue rider has been a constant thorn in his side, making fun of him for riding a female dragon, even though it’s not that uncommon, and K’urt had assumed that the burly looking rider was simply stuck in gender-appropriate riders and dragons pairing.

But the look on his face right this instant -- it’s not the face of someone who is disgusted in him.

Quite the opposite actually.

Frozen in this sudden realization, K’urt misses Dav’id coming closer and he only comes back to his situation when the taller man puts his hands on both sides of his face.

Before he has the time to react, Dav’id is kissing him and Azimioth is planting his claws in Pavaroth’s tail.

K’urt pushes him away from him as hard as he can, reaching to touch his lips in disbelief and Pavaroth flicks her tail to slap the blue dragon in the face, forcing him to let go.

Dav’id seems to go for a second, more forceful one but he’s suddenly pulled backwards.

“What the …” he growls, his eyes dark as he takes the smaller man who just stopped him.

K’urt follows his line of sigh and can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes him as his knees buckle.

B’laine is here, eyes dark as they dart between K’urt and the mass of riders in the corridor.

K’urt closes his eyes for a moment to connect with Pavaroth, and he can see Warblementh flying over Azimioth and growling at the blue dragon, claws at the ready to chase him away.

“K’urt doesn’t need me to tell you that your … attentions are not welcomed,” B’laine says calmly, his voice deadly as he pushes Dav’id away.

Dani’s voice rings in the corridor, bouncing off the stones. “You’ve all always known that Pavaroth and Warblementh were a match made a long time before they hatched - be honorable, my men, and find a solution to get rid of that lust in your veins.”

More than anything, it’s the recollection of the bond between the two dragons that shake the riders from their haze and most of the men run out of the way, most probably to find a willing partner to clean their system of the lust induced by the green dragon’s heat.

Dani winks at K’urt and takes Dav’id’s arm to pull him away. He starts to protest, clawing at the wall to get back at K’urt but the moment B’laine pulls K’urt in a hug, all the fight seems to be drained from him and he follows his Weyrleader with a bowed head.

 

K’urt’s hands are tight around B’laine’s waist, pulling him against him and he can feel the other man’s erection rubbing against his side as they get closer.

“I never,” B’laine whispers, “I mean - I always thought we would get together before our dragons, I don’t want to force you or pres-”

K’urt cuts him off with a press of his lips to B’laine’s. It’s much more subdued than the kiss Dav’id imposed on him and yet, there are so much emotions in it that it shakes the two of them and B’laine pulls him impossibly closer to deepen the kiss.

In the skies over them, Warblementh flies next to Pavaroth to rub their heads together and the green dragon twirls to align her body with the brown dragon.

His claws grip her back lightly to get a minimal amount of stability as B’laine pushes K’urt backward, keeping their lips locked, barely managing to close the door behind them - luckily Santana was spying on them and she secures the wooden door to make sure that no one will dare to disturb them.

K’urt feels like their clothes vanished from their bodies but he doesn’t care, he lets his hands roam over B’laine’s back, switching from light as feather caresses and digging his nails in the plans and curves he dreamed of.

B’laine kisses the side of his head, his jaw, his neck, murmuring words of love and devotion and how he plans on courting K’urt properly one this whole mating is taken care off, making aborted thrusting motions with his hips that rub his cock deeper into K’urt’s thigh.

K’urt lets out a moan echoed by a happy roar from Pavaroth as Warblementh pushes his own cock inside of her.

The surge of lust that goes through both K’urt and B’laine is so strong that they shudder, the vibration an interesting addition to their cocks rubbing and slotting between them.

“I want you so much,” B’laine moans in his ear and K’urt reaches for the bed behind him to lay down, crawling backwards to keep his eyes on B’laine.

God the other boy’s naked body is a delight he never wants to get used to.

B’laine wastes no time before joining him on the bed and covering his body much like Warblementh’s wings are covering Pavaroth body in flight.

 

A part of K’urt’s mind is remembering something his father told him when he got selected for the Quest.

He was young barely a teenager at the time, but Burt was adamant about telling him the things he needed to know about sex.

 

About how even when he’s bowing to his dragon’s will, he should keep in mind that he’s important and to be cherished.

In Blaine’s embrace, that’s exactly how he feels : cherished, revered, adored, safe and loved.

 

About how sex is more than a physical act, that it’s a bond that can run deeper than the bond with the dragon because it can lead to heartbreak.

As B’laine fingers him open, his hand covered in a lubricant probably brought to his room when the Weyr realized what was happening, K’urt feels like they’re cementing the bond that has always existed between them.

 

About how even if his partner is not female, nothing should be taken lightly.

As B’laine finally pushes his cock inside of him, and as Warblementh sinks deeper inside of Pavaroth, K’urt feels like this is the opposite of light. This is deep and intense and everything.

This is life at its rawest form running in his veins and pounding in his body, rushing through him as he can feel both himself and Pavaroth on the brink of an orgasm.

 

~ Mate ~ Warblementh roars as he comes deep inside of Pavaroth.

“I love you so much,” B’laine growls one last time as he snaps his hips forward, driving his cock against that spot that sends waves of pleasure through K’urt.

 

B’laine leans backward, changing their position so that K’urt is basically sitting on his lap and he buries his face in K’urt’s neck, his hips barely rotating now and K’urt tightens his hold on B’laine shoulders, his whole body feeling on fire and limp.

B’laine is babbling words of love again and when he presses a kiss to K’urt earlobe, it sends K’urt over the edge, just as Pav spins them both in the air as she reaches her orgasm.

K’urt is barely aware of B’laine coming inside of him, barely aware of him pulling away and cleaning him with soft, gentle, adoring swipes of a wet rag, barely aware of B’laine snuggling against him and covering them both with a blanket.

All that matters is that it’s B’laine lying next to him, and that it’s Warblementh who covers Pavaroth with his wings as they come back to the Weyr.


End file.
